Blinken lands in Kyiv amid Ukraine push for long-range missile strike permission
(LONDON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday morning as Ukrainian leaders pressed for U.S. permission to use American-made long-range weapons against targets inside Russia.
America’s top diplomat was accompanied by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The pair are scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and “senior Ukrainian government officials,” according to a State Department statement.
Blinken will “discuss continued support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s aggression and how to ensure Ukraine can thrive militarily, economically, and democratically in the long term,” it added.
Restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American long-range weapons is one of the most pressing issues for Blinken during the visit.
Kyiv has long been advocating for U.S. permission to strike military targets within Russian borders, including airfields that are key to Moscow’s long-range missile campaign against Ukrainian cities.
“We continue to persuade our partners at all levels about long-range capabilities,” Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel on Sunday.
“Russia can avoid seeking peace only as much as the world avoids making strong decisions aimed at Russia’s defeat. Long-range capabilities are one of those key, strategic decisions,” he wrote.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists at a Wednesday briefing that he expects the U.S. to give its permission.
“Most likely, of course, all these decisions have already been made,” he said, as quoted by the state-run Tass agency.
Blinken is scheduled to hold a press conference at 12 p.m. ET.
(BEIRUT, Lebanon) — Two people are dead and 20 others were injured after Israel launched a strike on Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, on Tuesday that targeted a senior Hezbollah commander as tensions along Israel’s northern border continue to escalate.
The strike hit a residential building in Haret Hreik, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.
Fouad Shukr, also known as Al-Hajj Mohsen, was targeted in the strike, according to three security sources familiar with the operation. Shukr is a senior adviser on military affairs to Hasan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah. He also had a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, via the U.S. government.
The IDF claimed that Shukr was killed in the strike.
“The IDF targeted in Beirut the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and killed many Israeli civilians,” the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News in a statement.
“Hezbollah crossed the red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media.
Israel struck Dahiya, a district in Beirut’s southern suburbs that is a stronghold of militant group Hezbollah.
Twelve people, including children playing soccer, were killed in a strike on the Golan Heights over the weekend. Hezbollah denied responsibility, but both the U.S. and Israel have said the missile used in the attack came from a Hezbollah-controlled location.
“This attack was conducted by Lebanese Hezbollah,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement Sunday. “It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”
In recent days, Hezbollah has said that any strike in Beirut would be met with a strong response of their own.
Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the area struck was meters away from one of the largest hospitals in Lebanon and said they reserve the right to respond to Israel’s attack.
“This criminal act that occurred tonight is a link in a series of aggressive operations that are claiming civilians in a clear and frank violation of International law and international humanitarian law, which is something we put in place for the international community, which must bear its responsibilities and press with all force to oblige Israel to stop its aggression and threats and implement international resolutions,” Mikati said Tuesday.
The U.S. was given advanced notice ahead of Israel’s strike in Beirut, according to a U.S. official familiar with matter. The message was communicated via security channels and limited operational detail was shared, the official said.
It’s still unclear whether the strike successfully eliminated its target, and assessments are ongoing, according to the U.S. official.
U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Pate said earlier that the U.S. has been in “continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts” since the weekend.
“The United States is going to continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along the blue line,” Pate said.
“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad, and it’s unwavering, especially as it defends itself against Iran backed threats, including threats from Hezbollah,” Pate told reporters.
ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston contributed to this report.
(SUMY REGION, Ukraine) — Ukraine has reportedly destroyed a third and last key bridge in an area of Russia’s Kursk region, according to Russian military bloggers, inflicting a potentially significant blow on Moscow’s struggling efforts to push back Ukraine’s incursion there.
Ukraine and Russia have not officially confirmed the bridge has been destroyed.
The destruction of the third bridge over the Seym river at Karyzh would mean Russian troops on a broad stretch of the border beyond the river would now largely cut off, according to military analysts tracking the conflict.
Russian troops would be unable to receive significant re-supply or reinforcements, as Ukrainian troops move from the east, increasingly encircling them.
The reports of the destruction of the third bridge come almost two weeks after Ukrainian troops began a ground incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, marking the largest invasion of Russian territory since World War II. Hundreds of thousands of Russians have been ordered to evacuate the area, according to Russian outlets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday night hinted more clearly at the operation’s goals, saying in his nightly address that Ukraine sought to create a “buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory.”
Zelenskyy’s reference to a “buffer zone” mirrored President Vladimir Putin’s public justifications for Russia’s own offensive into Ukraine’s Kharkiv region earlier this summer, and indicated Kyiv hopes to hold Russian territory both to shield its own land and perhaps to trade in any future peace negotiations.
Zelenskyy described Ukraine’s “primary task” in its defensive operations was “to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions.”
The area that has been cut off by the destruction of the bridges is estimated to be several hundred square miles wide and may contain hundreds of Russian troops.
Ukraine methodically took out the two other bridges in the last few days, according to its Air Force.
Russian military bloggers reported that pontoon bridges were now being used to supply their forces in the area, claiming they would be sufficient, something many military analysts doubt.
The targeting of the bridges suggests that after two weeks Ukraine is still continuing to try to broaden its incursion and appears intent on digging in to hold the territory it is seizing. One goal is to potentially trade such Russian territory in any future peace talks.
(LONDON) — In one of the largest exchanges of drone attacks since the Russia-Ukraine war began, dozens were shot down in Russia and Ukraine in overnight assaults, officials in both countries said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said Wednesday they shot down more than 50 Ukrainian long-range drones over various regions, including nearly a dozen around Moscow.
The drones over Moscow were shot down Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, local time, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
Unverified videos published online showed explosions in the sky over Russia. Sobyanin said some of the drones were destroyed in the region surrounding Moscow, brought down by the city’s layered air defense.
Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the attack in Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces shot down 50 Shahed drones and subdued 16 others in a prolonged attack — the longest drone assault since the start of the full-scale — officials in Ukraine said.
Ten drones were shot down around Kyiv, according to Maj. Gen. Anatoliy Barhylevych, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces. The drone assault lasted for 16 hours, from 10 p.m. Tuesday till 2 p.m. Wednesday local time, he said.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attack in Ukraine.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv warned in an alert Wednesday to American citizens in Ukraine that “during the next several days and through the weekend there is an increased risk of both nighttime and daytime Russian drone and missile attacks.”
The alert said the threat was tied to Ukraine’s upcoming Independence Day and did not suggest it was connected to any Ukrainian military activities inside Russian territory.